Israel's gauges gain; techs weak as banks mull fine

RobertDaniel

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Israeli stocks mainly gained ground Thursday to bring a string of three losing sessions to an end, with a few key blue chips on the rise and real-estate companies trading strong but with technology bucking the bullish trend.

In a note to clients, Leader Capital Markets said that Israeli banks are "threatening a legal battle" against a proposed fine of 290 million shekels ($74.6 million) tied to alleged collusion on fees charges for bank services.

The banks claim they've engaged in no wrongdoing. On Wednesday, press reports had noted that antitrust authorities in Israel demanded the fine, claiming the banks colluded to set the fees.

"The banks face the option of paying the fine (the amount could be negotiated) or opening themselves to class-action suits, which could result in far heavier damage," Leader said.

A big gainer among Tel Aviv's blue chips was supermarket chain Shufersal
SHUFF, +5.28%
shares of which tacked on 4%.

Key gainers included Elbit Imaging
EMITF, -1.26%
which also has medical-equipment interests, up 11%, and Jerusalem Economic, up more than 22%. Gazit Globe added 7.1%, with Africa-Israel Investments
AFIVY
ahead 3%.

But the technology sector found several shares under selling pressure.

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